Audience: Mahito

[probe]

Comments

[touchups]

[HE BURSTS INTO LAUGHTER because he's a terrible gremlin cretin of a garbage pail.]

I guess people like to think that way! Yeah, they really do, don't they?

[probe]

[they feel very passionate about this which means mahito's laughing and lust is lobbing a tiny cupcake at him.]

Why wouldn't they? People don't always want to believe people are evil! [they are well aware what curses are and how they thrive but also!!] Is it really so bad to think like that?

[touchups]

[LUST!! He catches it with his face, but he's still laughing even as he wipes frosting off with the back of his hand.]

Eh? It's not bad, I guess! Just really, really silly.

[probe]

Hey, I'm not calling your ideas silly. [are they...pouting? it sounds like they are perhaps pouting. also he deserves a cupcake to the face.]

[touchups]

[HE ABSOLUTELY DESERVES WORSE, PLEASE.

Anyway, he will mercifully stop cackling like a hyena, at least... Even if it takes a few seconds to kill off the remaining chuckles.]

Don't sulk, don't sulk. You have to know how silly it sounds to me, right? After all, I wouldn't be me if humans weren't themselves.

[probe]

Yeah, that's true...all curses are born because people are uncertain of themselves, right? Isn't that how it goes?

[touchups]

[God bless Lust. He also leaves the rest of the cupcake wherever it's fallen after he finishes wiping his face clean, because this is Monday and Gluttony can't reach him here.

Anyway this is terrible but unfortunately he will explain, holding his non-frosting'd hand up as he talks.]

All curses are born from negative human emotion. The strongest ones come from the strongest feelings - one single person's, or something shared among many. Like... you could get a pretty strong curse from the grief of someone losing a loved one, but you'd get a much stronger curse from the shared fear of, say, a tsunami.

[They're like Madoka witches but like, 20x worse because they all just run around freely.]

[probe]

[huh. okay, that makes some reasonable sense.]

But what about if that fear isn't real? Can curses be born from something a person makes up?

[touchups]

Of course! [HE SAYS, bright and cheery like they're discussing the weather.] There are plenty of things humans fear that aren't real, right? But that doesn't make the feeling itself any less authentic. A good example are curses that come from a shared belief in an urban legend, like the nine-tailed fox or Hanako.

[Humans really are just out here fearing the boogeyman so hard that they create it.]

[probe]

[...HM.]

And a curse doesn't lose its power when people stop believing in those things?

[touchups]

Nope! The cursed energy's already been generated. It doesn't just go away when the source of the fear is gone. Ah, but a curse like that definitely won't be coming back if it's exorcised.

[Implying that

other curses do.]

[probe]

Annnd....how do you exorcise a curse...?

[touchups]

Why? Wanna give it a try?

[He says this in a teasing tone, though, unfortunately...]

[probe]

What would you even do if I said yes?

[touchups]

I'd let you give it a try, obviously!

["Obviously". Why is he LIKE THIS.]

[probe]

Hmm....explain it to me like I'm five. How would it go?

[the same reason lust is like this, apparently.]

[touchups]

[WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS CONVERSATION. Apparently Mahito is fine rolling with it, though. God.]

Sure! First of all, you need to be a sorcerer, since they're the only humans that can use cursed energy. Then, you just- [MAKES A STABBING MOTION.] -hit them with your cursed energy until they're gone.

[probe]

[i truly wish i knew.]

So it's still just like magic. [killing magic. wizard stabs. got it.] I don't think I'm a sorcerer, so I guess that means I can't do much about that even if I wanted to.

[touchups]

Haha, yep. [Reasons why he was okay with them giving it a try, anyway... In addition to [redacted] and [redacted], which make him [redacted].]

You could still try if you wanted to, though! I wouldn't stop you.

[probe]

Hmm...I think I'll pass! But thanks for answering anyway. I just wanted to know more about it.

[touchups]

Sure, no problem. [A little nod! Why are they both so chill with this.] You could probably talk to Gojou Satoru if you really wanted to know more about it. He's the expert here.

[probe]

...the knock-off ninja? [please don't be mean to gojou.]

[touchups]

[No please do he loves this. Lust singlehandedly springboarded into his favorites with that...

He looks surprised for a fraction of a second before bursting into laughter yet again...]

Haha, wow! You're the best!

[probe]

I can't help it! It's not like Mr. Satoru's spoken to me and that's what he reminds me of!

[touchups]

[This is the best... SO FUNNY.]

Aha, yeah - I guess he kind of does, huh? [SOOOOOO FUNNY.] I'm surprised he hasn't said anything to you yet, though. That guy's so paranoid!